Tried and true Christmas gifts for kids
Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 11:07AM 
Christmas is coming, and it's easy to get sucked into our society's inclination toward consumerism at this time of year. Whether or not you can afford the latest fun toys, technology, or trinkets for kids is pretty irrelevant when you consider what is most beneficial for their development.
Incidently, this post was inspired by this great piece posted today by one of our school parents. Thanks for posting!
A couple of ideas on Christmas gifts for your children that they will love but that will also be of extreme benefit to their development!
Two years ago, I was in a quandary as to what to stuff our children's stockings with. I was fed up with puting little junky trinkets in them that just temporarily entertain and then end up stocking the landfill. One of our teachers gave me a brilliant idea...why not stock the boys stockings with "invention" supplies?! We routinely use a wide variety of such supplies in our preschool, and the boys have had MUCH experience utilizing them, but why not give them their very own?! So I did. Their stockings were filled with electrical tape, zip ties, mini bungee cords, string, and more.
When Christmas had come and gone, which gifts were the ones that provided weeks (even months) of entertainment for the boys? You guessed it...the invention supplies!
There's proof! We need not feel pressured to spend loads of money on the latest gadgets. As a matter of fact, think of how much more brain stimulation comes from creative gifts like this! Isn't that a better gift in the long run...the gift of experience in challenge and growth for our children?!
I'm sure you all have many other creative ideas for inexpensive, developmentally beneficial Christmas gifts. We'd love to hear them. One such example is deconstruction of appliances. Read more by Teacher Tom about what a gift that could be here.
If you've got other ideas to share, send them our way. Perhaps they'll find their way onto our blog here! And remember...whatever Christmas shopping you end up doing...enjoy the season!
Reader Comments (1)
My stocking stuffers/group gifts for my preschoolers this year include: sand timers (fascinating things for them of late), their own boxes of band-aids, beautiful glass gems, colored masking tape, scotch tape, post-it notes, a hole punch (another tool they can't get enough of), flashlights, stickers, crayons, memo pads....
I love the idea of giving something that will last past the first week after Christmas!